Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Jeanne Redig's ceramic pottery in animal shapes is part of the 'Paws and Claws' exhibit at Gallery Saratoga.
Animals are the subjects at annual Paws and Claws show
Twelve artists show
By Shari Kaplan
As sure as February brings blossoms to the branches of early-flowering trees, it also brings an annual pre-spring event to Gallery Saratoga, at 14531 Big Basin Way in the Saratoga Village.
That event is Paws and Claws, a semi-group exhibition that this year comprises the work of 12 member artists, all of whom have contributed art whose theme is the "wild kingdom"--or tame one, as the case may be.
Don Del Castillo of San Jose, a new gallery member, seems to favor animals in their natural elements with his strikingly framed digital photographs such as Molting Elephant Seal and Santa Cruz Crabs. The subject of the former is a large male covered in mottled shreds of old skin, his trunk-like nose raised in a roar--definitely not a creature the average beach-goer would be apt to photograph! Del Castillo also shoots on dry land and with less dangerous subjects, as in Basket of Siamese Cats.
Felines are common in the work of other artists. For Saratogans Jeanne Redig and Donna Padrick, the medium is ceramics. Among Redig's pieces is an oatmeal-colored pet food dish with tiny pawprints inside and feline faces outside, while Padrick's works include pitchers on which are perched curious cats who peer inside. Both also employ other animal imagery: Redig, a rotund earthenware pig in the shape of a bank, and Padrick a soap or candy dish with a family of ducks parading around the rim.
Los Gatan Wanda Kownacki uses watercolors in Kitten, a peaceful scene in soft colors of a young woman and cat in a garden, while Chie Kurahashi Goldsmith favors bright, basic colors in An Old Tale, her katazome print of a watchful black cat. Although far from domesticated, the lion and lioness in Saratogan Dori Phifer's encaustic Not Again resemble a domestic couple. The lioness's roar (or yawn?) looks like a vociferous complaint, especially when paired with the painting's title and the look on her partner's face.
Countering the feline presence is Los Altan Avie Urch's I'll Grow Up, a floppy-eared puppy in pastels who just begs to be picked up, and Bedlington, a curly-coated terrier painted by Dori Phifer. Farmyard friends turn up in Saratogan Lillian Isaacson's and Renate Radcliffe's paintings. Isaacson's Stroganoff shows an inquisitive young cow with big brown eyes done in oil paints, while Radcliffe's Jaques the Rooster depicts a colorful and proud old bird painted on fine silk.
Rounding out the exhibit is Floating Ducks, an oil painting by Saratogan Gloria Watson; The Swan, an example of the photography of Saratogan Felicia Peters Pollock; and a variety of ceramic creations by Mountain View artist Joy Butler, including giraffes, a ram's head and the ubiquitous cat.
Gallery Saratoga hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 408.867.0458, or visit www.geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery/8678/saratoga on the Internet.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
